Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Have You Been Watching Survivor's Remorse, Ballers, and The Carmichael Show?

The last episode of Survivor's Remorse was done so well I began to wonder how many of you all are watching the 30-minute dramedy on Starz (first time I can say I'm a Lebron James fan...he's one of the executive producers). Earlier this year I saw a commercial for the return of the show for its second season and decided to binge watch the first season, and it was hilarious!

 So I set my DVR to record the new season...never a bad episode. But this last episode was especially well done in my opinion. I was impressed with the way they handled the budding romantic relationship between the main character, Cab Calloway (played by Jessie T. Usher) and his new love interest. And then the episode took it up another notch when I realized it was touching on police brutality in an unexpected way (even making use of "I can't breathe") by showing it from the perspective of Calloway's uncle (played by Mike Epps) who is riding along with two officers. Tichina Arnold plays Cab's mother and RonReaco Lee plays his cousin/manager. Erica Ash and Teyonah Parris are also a part of the main cast.

The story line essentially follows the lives of a young man who makes it to the NBA and takes his immediate family on the journey with him as they move from Boston to Buckhead. Definitely worth the watch if you have Starz.


Speaking of ball players, did you watch the first season of Ballers?! Think...an HBO version of  The Game (when it was on the WB, before the foolishness...). Spencer Strasmore (Dwayne Johnson) is a retired NFL player trying to make his way into the financial management world by taking on young NFL players as his clients, but they need more than just financial guidance. I can't wait for season 2...did I mention Denzel Washington's son John David Washington plays one of the main characters, Ricky Jerret? I mean he was eye candy on the show way before the world realized he was Denzel Washington's show, that revelation just made it all make sense. Great show...check out season 1 if you haven't already!


 Another new show, which you won't need premium cable to watch, is The Carmichael Show. Did you watch it??

So based off the title, I thought they might be going for a Cosby show type of feel. Buuut...I soon realized it was actually more of a Black version of All in the Family. Now before you begin to think I was looking for the show to fit into some type of mold of an already done show, I really wasn't. Early on I realized it wasn't The Cosby Show. And then later it hit me it was All in the Family. I mean the opening credits; the sweet, naive yet actually pretty wise mother; the kinda racist, no-filter father; the child's significant other's embodiment of everything that is the opposite of the family...I mean really, if you watched All in the Family you would see what I mean. But I like both shows, and obviously The Carmichael Show has it own uniqueness. It touched on a variety of topics from eating healthy to religion, even to the Black Lives Matter movement. It also does a great job of showing the diversity within the African-American community. Jerrod Carmichael, whose life the show is based on, plays the main character (himself) and is one of the creators and executive producers. David Alan Grier and Loretta Devine play his parents, Joe and Cynthia Carmichael. This is definitely a show to support, and I look forward to seeing season 2 on NBC!